


Road Trip to Riverrun

by MariaJonsson



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 04:32:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3556142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariaJonsson/pseuds/MariaJonsson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cat & Ned take their children on a trip to Riverrun, and things don't really go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Road Trip to Riverrun

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** Fic written for [Cat x Ned Week](catxned.tumblr.com) on Tumblr, for the prompt Family. Sort of a part of the story [ Don't Believe Everything You Read](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1953348), but can both be read independently. Hope you like it :)  
>  **Warning:** Sexual references & bad language.  
>  **Disclaimer:** All characters belong to GRRM, this is just for fun.

“Mom!” “Mom!”

Catelyn rolled her eyes as her daughters screamed down the stairs for her attention, probably yet another disagreement about luggage and having been told that they would be sharing a room during the stop to visit Catelyn’s father in Riverrun.

“Mom! She’s ruining everything!” Sansa’s dramatic voice filled the house, followed by her shriek, when Arya undoubtedly pulled on her hair. 

“Arya! Let go of your sister’s hair,” Ned’s tired voice called out, followed by the slamming of doors.

Ned came down the stairs, holding Rickon’s bag in one hand and their three year old in the other, holding him up by the suspenders on his overalls, the boy screaming with glee as Ned bounced him up and down while he walked down the stairs.

“Ned!” Catelyn scolded him, rushing over to grab hold of Rickon.

“What?” Ned answered, putting Rickon’s bag along with their own and Jon’s. “He wouldn’t walk down the stairs himself because he was waiting for Bran, and he wouldn’t let me carry him.”

“That doesn’t mean you pull him up by his trousers,” she said, looking her baby over for any damage. 

“He’s not made of glass, Cat,” he said, coming over to them, pressing a kiss to her hair. “Stop worrying.”

“I can’t,” she replied, practically shoving Rickon into Ned’s arms as she walked up the stairs to hurry their other offspring along.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she was almost knocked over by Robb, who was carrying his suitcase along with his guitar case.

“One bag, young man,” Catelyn reminded him, eyeing the guitar with displeasure.

“But mom! I have to practice!” Robb cried out, his pleading eyes reminding her of her little brother.

“It is just a couple of weeks, you’ll just have to practice in your mind, unless of course you want to leave all your clothes behind,” she suggested eyeing his suitcase, knowing full well he would never leave his precious hair gel behind, not to mention the designer jacket he had gotten them to buy for him last Christmas.

“But…” he started, but she raised her hand up and Robb quickly relented, dragging his guitar case back towards his room, two doors down.

“This vacation is going to suck,” she heard him mumbling as he got to his room. 

“Language!” she yelled after him, shaking her head.

Catelyn was about to look in on Arya when she heard a dog whining in Brandon’s room across the hall, so she quickly altered her plans, and headed across the hall, not quite prepared for what greeted her.

On the floor in the middle of the room, her middle son sat on the top of his suitcase as his dog Summer, was hidden inside it, the large dog clearly not appreciating Brandon’s attempts at fitting him into his one bag.

“Brandon Stark! What in the Gods name are you doing?” she asked, her hands on her hips as she tried her very best not to laugh at the sight before her.

“Mother!” Brandon panicked, jumping to his feet in front of the suitcase, trying to conceal it behind him. “Are we leaving?”

“Bran, what did we talk about last night? About Summer and the other dogs?” she asked, lowering herself to his level, looking into his blue eyes.

Bran looked down at his feet, shovelling them around as he whispered, “That they were to big to come along and that they would uncomfortable in the car with all of us.”

“Then what is Summer doing in your suitcase?” she asked, pulling his chin up so he’d look at her again. 

“I don’t want to leave him. He’ll be lonely without me,” Bran argued. “I don’t want him to think I’ve left him.”

“He won’t think that, and he’ll have his siblings and Uncle Ben,” Catelyn said, moving forward to flip open the suitcase, allowing Summer to get up, his snout sniffing at her extended hand. “Besides, would you like for me or your father to put you in a suitcase?”

“At least then I wouldn’t have to sit between Sansa and Arya,” Bran grumbled, his eyes once again looking at his feet.

“Alright, let’s make a deal. I won’t make you sit between your sisters, and you will stop trying to pack Summer into our bags?” she said, finally cracking a smile.

Bran nodded his head, looking behind him at the bed where he had thrown all of his clothing and toys that they had packed the night before.

“Oh no, young man. You took everything out, so now you have to put everything back in its place, including Summer,” she said, pointing out the window towards the large shed Ned had built for the dogs in the backyard.

Bran did not reply, but quickly started pushing the stuff off his bed and into the suitcase, Summer helping along by grabbing the things that fell on the floor and placing them back on the bed.

“ Mom!” Sansa’s voice cried out again, and Catelyn left her son to his own devices for a little while to answer her daughter’s cry. 

“Sansa!” Catelyn cried out in the same whiny tone as Sansa had, only to discover her daughter’s room cluttered with clothes, which wouldn’t have been unusual if she was in Arya’s room, but Sansa was usually much more careful, especially when it came to her clothes.

“Mom, it isn’t funny! I have absolutely nothing to wear,” Sansa cried out, the dozen or so bathing clothes she held in her fist, along with her whole wardrobe scattered around the room contradicting her statement.

Sansa had always been fond of pretty things and fairy tales, and as she grew older these things turned into a love of fashion and romance, which worried Ned far more than Catelyn found necessary. Sansa might be a bit naïve, but she had a kind heart and an inquisitive mind.

“Sansa you have more than enough things to wear,” Catelyn argued, moving a few articles of clothing away from the bed so that she might have a seat.

“Why can I only have a bag? Why does Arya get the same size as I do, she has way fewer things to bring than I do,” she cried.

“Sansa! Your sister might not have a love of fashion and clothes like you, but she is entitled to as much luggage as you are,” Catelyn replied sternly, wishing that her daughters might get along, or at the very least not fight as much as they do, sometimes it was enough to break Catelyn’s heart, to see the two go at each other with such cheap shots and how little they valued each other.

“It isn’t fair, Margaery got to bring three suitcases when her father took her and Loras to Myr last summer,” Sansa said, a dreamy look appearing on her young face.

“Yes, well, we do not have the space for three suitcases since we’ll be driving and the car can only fit so many bags,” Catelyn replied, getting quite tired of having to repeat herself.

“Why can’t granddaddy not just come here?” Sansa asked as she threw a few things into her already overfilled bag.

“Because your father and I wanted to take you guys on a trip with us, you kids are getting older and soon you’ll be heading off to college and starting your own families and we just want to spend as much time with you as possible before you leave,” Catelyn said, choking up a bit, remembering her conversation with Ned at the Dragon Hotel, thinking of her little babies as grown ups always upset her up a bit, but Ned had promised that they’d go away together, just their family and the open road, and pretty soon after they had settled on Riverrun, the old Tully mansion in the Riverlands, the magical place she had loved as little girl.

“Fine,” Sansa agreed, pushing her suitcase together, trying to close it on her own. In the end they managed to close it together and just as they entered the hallway Robb was running past and agreed to help his sister carry the bag down the stairs. 

Having seen all of her children except one, Catelyn walked down the hall towards her younger daughter’s room, knocking lightly before opening it, finding her son supervising Arya and Nymeria as the two tried to pack Arya’s things in her trunk.

“You know, little sister, if you fold things, they will fit more easily and you’ll be able to bring more books and games,” Jon pointed out, earning himself a frown from his sister.

Catelyn stood in the doorway watching the two together as she often had before. When he was young, Jon had felt uneasy in their family, but neither she nor Ned ever hid his origins from him, although they tried their best to show him that he was their son no matter what his birth certificate said, but with only Sansa and Robb to compare himself to, he felt out of order in their family. Until, Arya was born.

Sansa had loved the idea of a little sister and had thought that she’d be her little doll, although that fantasy only lasted until a day after Arya came home from the hospital and Sansa felt that she had been replaced by the new baby in their father’s eyes. Robb had been disappointed that Arya hadn’t been a boy, but as he usually was, he accepted her and moved on, treating her no differently from Sansa.

Jon on the other hand had come alive, as if Arya’s birth had vindicated his place in their family. Now that someone other than Ned resembled him, he was finally a part of this family. Arya had also taken to her big brother at once, and other than Catelyn’s own arms, Jon’s had been the ones that she preferred best, as if sensing her importance to him, even when she was only a babe.

“How are things going?” Catelyn asked, sharing a grin with Jon.

“Sansa tried to sneak some of her stuff into my bag!” Arya said with a frown. “I told her I needed my space, but she wouldn’t listen.”

“She shouldn’t have done that,” Catelyn agreed, watching Arya nod her head.

“Do you think Granddaddy will allow us to ride his horses?” Arya asked excited, nearly jumping on the heels of her feet. 

“If you behave, then I’m sure he will,” Catelyn said, knowing full well her father would allow Arya to do whatever her heart desired so long as he believed her to be safe.

“I promise, I won’t even fight with Sansa,” Arya promised, before adding. “Well, I will try to not fight with her.”

Catelyn and Jon shared a knowing look and laughed as Arya frowned, although she quickly joined the laughter when Jon grabbed her and tickled her a little before getting up. 

“So are you ready?” Catelyn asked Jon, stroking a hand over his hair, pushing it back from his eyes, both he and Robb were getting very tall, and soon she wouldn’t be able to look them in the eyes without a stool to stand on.

“Yeah, mom,” Jon replied. “I finished last night, knowing that some people might be a little behind.”

“Hey, I heard that,” Arya cried out as she tried to fold a T-shirt before giving up and throwing it in with the rest.

Catelyn decided to let Jon handle Arya, and walked back towards Bran’s room to find it empty, and much neater than it had been before. An hour later they were all seated in the car and driving out of King’s Landing, the girls seated on either side of Rickon in the row behind them, and the older boys seated in the back row with Bran in the middle, smiling widely despite having had to say his goodbyes to his pet.

“See, only an hour behind schedule,” Ned said, leaning towards her from the driver’s side.

“Mhm,” Catelyn mumbled, exhaustion finally catching up with her, after spending half the night up, worrying about getting everything ready.

“Only ten hours until we reach the Inn, and we can have some time to ourselves,” Ned said, his hand coming to rest on her thigh. 

“I can’t wait,” Catelyn replied, squeezing his fingers with her own.

“Ewww, Dad! No PDA in the car,” Arya cried out, her seat behind Ned giving her, a good view towards the front of the car.

“Focus on your game,” Ned replied, not drawing his hand back towards himself.

“Daddy, you’re supposed to keep two hands on the steering wheel at all times,” Sansa said, having pulled off her headphones when she heard Arya’s cries. 

“Sorry Princess,” Ned said, reluctantly pulling his fingers away from hers, rolling his eyes as he did so. 

The ten hour ride turned into thirteen, due to many pullovers for pee breaks and cries of hunger, because apparently she and Ned hadn’t fed the boys since they were born. So dead tired and ready for a break from their lovely children, Ned finally pulled the car into a parking spot outside the Riverside Inn, a lovely countryside hotel with a large pool and adjoining rooms.

“Good evening and welcome to the Riverside Inn, how can I help you?” the perky young woman at the check-in desk said, smiling at the tired pair.

“We have a reservation under Stark,” Ned said, pulling out his phone, looking for the confirmation e-mail. “Three rooms for two nights.”

The woman quickly typed into the desk computer, but a frown formed on her face, concerning Catelyn.

“I’m sorry, sir, but there is no such reservation booked for tonight,” the woman said, trying to keep a smile on her face as she faced as grim faced Ned.

“What do you mean?” Ned growled at her, and Catelyn quickly grabbed his hand, hoping it would calm him down after their long journey.

“I’m sorry, sir, there is no reservation under the name Stark,” she said.

“I got an e-mail from this place, confirming it,” Ned hissed at her, thrusting his phone towards her.

The woman took the phone and looked over the email, then went back to the computer and for a few minutes clicked on the keyboard while they waited.

“I’m terribly sorry Mr and Mrs Stark, but it appears an error has been made, and the booking you made was posted on the wrong date,” the receptionist explained after a while. “Instead of June 15th and 16th, they marked it down for July.”

“Alright, so you’ll be able to fix this?” Catelyn asked.

The woman turned a bright shade of pink and Catelyn almost yelped when Ned crushed her hand in his, smoke almost appearing to leave his ears.

“Love, why don’t you go and sit down with the children and I’ll have this sorted out,” Catelyn suggested and Ned reluctantly departed from the check-in desk, leaving Catelyn alone with the check-in attendant. “So, what seems to be the problem.”

“Unfortunately, we only have two rooms available at the moment, we are hosting a convention this weekend, and we are bit packed, I’m terribly sorry,” the woman explained, seeming genuinely sincere in her apology.

“Do you have any cots or extra mattresses?” Catelyn asked, and the woman nodded, seeming to relax a bit.

After speaking with the manager, Catelyn got them one night free, and a decent discount on the next night for their troubles and within a half an hour she got her entire brood, along with her displeased husband into one of the adjoining rooms.

“We only have one room?” Sansa asked, shocked.

“No stupid, weren’t you listening, we have two,” Arya answered, pushing her sister aside so that she could sit on the bed.

“Language,” Ned growled. “And no arguing.”

“We have a cot coming up, so Robb and Jon will have to take a night each on the cot, while the other sleeps on the smaller bed,” Catelyn explained, pointing towards the smaller bed of the two in the room. “You and Sansa will share the one you are sitting on, Arya.”

Both the girls were about to protest, but a look from their father stopped them, before they could start.

“What about me and Rickon?” Bran asked, dragging his bag behind him.

“You guys will sleep in our room,” Catelyn said, and identical looks of horror passed over Ned and Bran’s faces. “It is only for two nights, there are plenty of rooms at Riverrun, so you guys can all have your own space, this is only for two nights.”

“Alright,” Bran answered, pulling the door to the adjoining room open, dragging his feet behind him as if he was heading for his execution.

Rickon was already asleep in Ned’s arms, so Catelyn quickly pulled Ned after Bran, so they could get settled and get some sleep.

“Mother, can I stay with the others until bedtime,” Bran asked.

“Sure,” Catelyn answered, more concerned with Ned than Bran.

Ned gently placed Rickon on the smaller of the two beds in their room, and started pulling off his coat and boots.

“Can you find his PJs?” Ned asked. 

Catelyn quickly found them, coming to stand next to him, watching him getting their wild wolf into his little pyjamas.

Once the child was properly settled on his bed, Ned stood up and fell back on their own bed, resting his arm over his eyes.

“This was not how it was supposed to be,” he groaned, his hand coming to rest on the small of her back when she sat down next to him. 

“It is only for two nights, if the children can endure it, you certainly can,” Catelyn laughed.

“The children are not heading towards their father-in-law’s home,” Ned complained, his warm hand now resting on her bare back, stroking in circles. 

“My father’s quite aware that we have sex, Ned. I have given birth to five of your children and I’m quite certain my father knows what that means,” she said, turning slightly so she could see his face, his hand moved from her back to her sides, tickling slightly.

“No father really knows,” Ned replied, pulling hand away to look at her. “At least they don’t admit it to themselves.”

“What does that matter then?” she said, shaking her head at his logic. “According to your reason, he won’t even suspect what we do in the privacy of our room.”

“I can’t,” Ned said shocked. “It would be breaking the father code.”

“Well, I can tell you what will be broken if you really are going to pick some unspoken agreement you have with my father over me,” Catelyn said with a shake of her head.

After a couple of hours Catelyn started rounding up her children and ordering them to bed, making sure all of them had everything they needed, checking one last time on the older kids in the next room after Bran was asleep next to Rickon, making sure Robb and Jon were both aware, that if she found out that they had for any reason left the room without her permission, she’d make their lives hell during high school. Also, checking to see if Arya and Sansa had killed each other in her absence, which seemed to be an unnecessary fear, as both girls were buried underneath the sheets together, reading the same adventure book, something she hadn’t seen them do for a few years.

After making sure all the doors were locked, Catelyn finally crawled into bed next to Ned, scooting as close as possible, trying not to wake him, since he had seemed exhausted after the long day, even falling asleep before Bran.

Catelyn jumped when she felt an arm around her waist, and lips kissing her neck.

“Mhm, finally,” Ned groaned into her neck, pressing his front to her back, squeezing a leg between hers.

“Ned, the boys,” Catelyn warned, although she couldn’t resist pushing her hips backwards, drawing a moan from him.

“No fair,” Ned growled into her neck, biting her lightly before suckling the same spot, probably leaving a mark. 

“You started it,” she moaned back, when one of his hands reached over and cupped her breast.

“I’ll finish this as well,” Ned said, squeezing her breast, before circling her nipple with his thumb.

Catelyn was about to give in when she heard one of the boys shifting on their bed and she was shaken back to reality and quickly shoved Ned’s hand away, pushing the sheets off them, and pulling Ned by his hand towards the bathroom. 

Once inside, she quickly closed and locked the door, turning towards a grinning Ned, the light gleaming in through the window enough to allow her to see his face. 

“Don’t look so smug,” Catelyn said with a smirk of her own.

Ned quickly grabbed her waist and hoisted her up on the counter, pulling her nightgown over her head, throwing it on the floor along with his shirt, and quickly shoving her underwear down her legs. 

“Ned!” Catelyn moaned as he pulled her flushed against him, his lips capturing hers. 

Breaking the kiss, he looked down her body, bending over to capture one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking greedily before letting it go with a pop, turning his attention to the other. His hand moved down her side, gripping her hip in a firm grip as he suckled, her back arched, pushing her breast closer to him. 

“Please Ned, please,” she begged, running her fingers through his hair. 

Ned moved his hand to travel from her hip down towards her sex, one finger sliding between her lower lips, spreading the wetness there, tapping lightly over her swollen clit. 

“Ned,” she cried. 

“Hush,” Ned warned, capturing her lips again to silence her, just as he slipped a finger inside her, dragging in against her walls before adding another, thrusting into her, capturing her moans with his mouth. 

Without warning he pulled back, leaving her bare and needy, though only for a moment long enough to pull her closer to edge, so that he could sheathe himself inside her, pulling her up against him, as he entered her completely. 

Catelyn had to bite into his shoulder to silence her cry, his own mouth buried in her hair, only a sigh of relief leaving his lips. 

“Gods,” Ned uttered as he moved against her, his hips slamming against hers in a rhythm she knew well. 

After a week of abstinence and all the foreplay in the car with the anticipation they would be left alone, it didn’t take long for Catelyn to fall over the edge, her screams only silenced by Ned’s large hand over her mouth. After allowing her to come back to her senses, Ned grabbed her hips harder, pulling her tightly against him with each thrust, she could see he was close.

“Mommy! Mommy!”

Ned quickly stopped, his cock still buried deep inside her and she couldn’t help squeezing her muscles around him, sending poor Ned over the edge, his groan sent flying into the air.

“Moommmmyy!” Rickon’s voice yelled, his fist banging on the door. “I want mommy!”

Catelyn quickly pushed Ned away, jumping off the counter and pulling her nightgown over her head in a swift move so that she’d reach the door before Rickon woke up the entire hotel.

Throwing the door open Catelyn didn’t even look behind her to see if Ned was decent. 

“Mommy!” Rickon exclaimed, throwing his arm around her legs.

Catelyn quickly pulled him up, settling him on her hip, hushing him.

“What’s wrong Rickon?” Catelyn asked, wiping away a stray tear from his blue-grey eyes.

“You were gone, I was all alone,” Rickon protested, frowning as he buried his face in her neck.

“What do you mean, Bran was right next to you,” Catelyn said, looking into the dark room to find Bran thankfully fast asleep.

“I want you,” Rickon said with a frown. “No Bran. I want Shaggy.”

“Alright, my little wolf, I was just using the bathroom, I just have to wash my hands and I’ll be right back, alright? Can you be a brave boy and stay here on my bed and wait,” she asked, placing him down on the bed. 

Rickon was about to protest, but changed his mind and nodded his little head. 

Catelyn quickly returned to the bathroom, turning on the mirror lights to find Ned sitting in the bathtub, hiding away. 

“Is he alright?” Ned asked. 

“He’s fine,” Catelyn assured him, looking at herself in the mirror, inspecting the bite mark on her neck. 

“Sorry,” Ned said, standing up from the bathtub to come up behind her, circling her waist with his arm. 

“No you’re not, you like marking me,” Catelyn said, turning around in his arms, pressing a kiss to his lips. “But that’s alright, I like marking you as well, circling her own bite mark with the tip of her finger, sending a shiver down his spine. 

“Wicked woman,” Ned growled. “Clean up so you can return to Rickon, I’ll wait here until he’s asleep, and he won’t know a thing,” Ned assured her, handing her a warm washcloth. 

Catelyn was almost asleep when Ned slipped into bed behind her, his arm settling around her and Rickon. 

“The things I do for family.” She heard him mutter just as she fell asleep, squeezed tightly between them. 

The End.


End file.
